The conventional means of selection of services on or adjustment of settings of electronic devices, including, for example, a TV, set-top box, DVD player, VCR, domestic appliance, and other similar devices, typically has the disadvantage of covering the entire area of the device's display and also typically requires a significant number of key depressions until the desired selection is shown and is selected. This selection process is a significant problem for many users of such electronic devices, including disabled persons and those who are unfamiliar with setting electronic devices, are fearful of adjusting such devices, have no patience to deal with the user interface which is often complex, or who do not want to spend the time and effort reading the device's operational manual. Such device operational manuals, if actually supplied with the device (which is not always the case), are typically somewhat incomprehensible due either to their technical complexity, the complexity of the technical language used, their over-simplicity, their bad writing style, or their unavailability in the user's native language.
Additionally, remote control devices, such as those used with televisions, DVD players, VCRs, etc., have a large number of keys, and the design of the key pads for each device is typically different for different manufacturers of like devices and even different for different devices of like manufacturers.
There is thus a need for an electronic device user interface that is simple for a user to operate without the need to study an incomprehensible written user's manual.
One such user interface that solves the aforementioned problems is disclosed in PCT Patent Publication No. WO 00/65429. In accordance with that user interface, a display on or associated with the electronic device presents to the user a pair of intersecting cross-point navigation bars. At least one of these bars is scrollable, and each bar displays one or more object fields. By selectively scrolling one or both of the bars, one at a time, by pressing appropriate buttons on the electronic device or its remote controller, the user positions a particular object field, or selection, at the point where the two bars intersect. When the user depresses a “select” button, the displayed object field is selected, and either a bar of the display transforms to the selected sub-field, or the electronic device performs the action corresponding to the displayed object field selected, thereby adjusting or setting the electronic device in the desired manner. By pressing another button when a particular object field is at the intersection of the two bars, the level of the object field displayed in the entire corresponding bar is changed so that the user is given a group of choices that fall under the selected object field category. Thus, for example, if the vertical bar has six object fields (A, B, C, D, E, and F), the horizontal bar will show sub-fields corresponding to the object field positioned at the intersection of the two bars (F-1, F0, F1, F2, F3, etc.), as shown in FIG. 2a of the patent publication. If the user depresses a predefined navigation key, sub-sub-fields (F2:-1, F2:0, F2:1, F2:2, F2:3, etc.) corresponding to the sub-field (F2) positioned at the intersection of the two bars are then displayed on the vertical bar, as shown in FIG. 2b of the patent publication. In actual use, words descriptive of, for example, instruction categories or actual instructions to be transmitted to the electronic device are displayed to the user, not merely letters and numbers. Such listing and selection of sub- and sub-sub-fields can go down to as many levels as is necessary to provide the user with a desired selection of options. To navigate upward through the levels, a second predefined navigation key is depressed by the user, and, as a result, the visual content of the appropriate bar is changed to reflect a change in field level.
Although the user interface disclosed in PCT Patent Publication No. WO 00/65429 is fully able to permit a user to satisfactorily navigate among a plurality of possible instructions or device settings arranged in a plurality of groups, sub-groups, sub-sub-groups, etc., it may be somewhat difficult for a user to determine where in the menu hierarchy of possible instructions and groups of instructions he currently is so that he can easily navigate to another desired available electronic device instruction or setting, or group of such instructions or settings. This difficulty arises because only two levels of groups (or fields) are simultaneously displayed to the user. Whenever a group, sub-group, etc. is selected, the appropriate bar is overwritten by the sub-entries in the selected group or sub-group. Thus, no map is displayed showing generally where in the hierarchy of groups, sub-groups, etc. the user currently is located. As a result, a user unfamiliar with the hierarchy of the groups may be forced to randomly press the navigation buttons repeatedly, thereby navigating up, down and/or through the levels, until he has found the desired instruction or group of instructions, or a group of instructions or an instruction that is familiar to the user to enable him to navigate to the instruction or group of instructions actually desired.